RECIPE
Midweek Spicy honey glazed butternut squash, prosciutto, balsamic onion pizza

Ready in 30 Minutes

Makes  2 pies

Ingredients

• 2 pack frozen organic pizza crust ( I got mine from Trader Joe’s)

• 2 tablespoons EVOO

• 1butternut squash

• 2 teaspoons honey

• 1 drop sage eo

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper use to your taste

• 2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes

• salt and black pepper

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced

• balsamic vinegar

• Fresh mozzarella

• 3 ounces sliced prosciutto, torn

• balsamic glaze

Tips

You can definitely bake your own crust but this is an easy midweek meal  

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to  425° F. On a baking sheet, toss together the olive oil, butternut squash, honey, cinnamon, cayenne, and a pinch each of crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes, until the squash is just tender and remove from oven. Add 1 drop of sage vitality oil to the squash and toss. Increase the heat to whatever the directions on the package say.

2. Meanwhile, caramelize the onions. Melt the butter in a large skillet (cast iron is best) on medium-high heat. Add the shallots t and cook approx 3 minutes, until softened. Add balsamic vinegar, season with salt and pepper and continue cooking another 5 minutes, until the vinegar has mostly evaporated and until the onions are golden and caramelized. Add a pinch of crushed red pepper, cook another minute. Remove from the heat.

3.  To assemble. Drizzle the dough lightly with olive oil. Top with the onions, you may not need them all. Add the cheese, then the prosciutto. Arrange the butternut squash on top.

4. Slide into the oven and bake until the crust is golden and the cheese has melted. Once removed drizzle with balsamic glaze. ENJOY! 

RECIPE
Risotto cu funghi

Serves 6 people

Tips

I always recommend tasting as you go. Don’t be too stuck on the timing of everything. Everyone’s stoves and tools are different so timing can change.

Ingredients

• 6 Cups miso broth

• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided

• 2lb mixed mushrooms 

• ¼ Large onion or 2 Shallots

• 3 Large cloves garlic

• 1 ½ Cups Arborio rice

• ½ Cup Dry white wine or rose

• Salt & Pepper to taste

• 4 Tablespoons butter

• ⅓ Cup Grated Parmigiano 

Preparation

1. In a Saucepan warm the broth. I took 6 cups of water and add the miso paste to it, just follow the directions on the label.

2. Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add sliced mushrooms in and cook until soft. Remove mushrooms and their liquid and set aside.

3. In the same skillet add 1 tablespoon of OO, stir in onion and garlic ( or shallots if using instead) cook about 1 min until no longer see through. Add Rice, stirring to coat in oil. Cook till it has taken a pale golden color. Add ½ Cup of broth at a time, stir constantly until rice absorbs liquid and then add the next ½ cup and follow the same step till you’ve added all the broth. Rice will be al dente. Timing depends but took me about ½ hr.

For me pasta is comfort food since that’s what I grew up eating. It’s my go to, don’t want to take out a recipe book meal. 

Italian restaurants have always been a hard one for me because it’s VERY rarely authentic. I know right away if it’s authentic or not if the servers pronounce BRUSCHETTA as brewsheta...it’s pronounced as bru-sketta….huge pet peeve LOL, especially when they correct me on how I pronounce it...sorry...obviously it’s a sore subject and has nothing to do with pasta but my point is there aren’t many authentic Italian restaurants.

By no means am I the best Italian cook, but I’ve learned a few things from my mom and Nonna and wanted to share them with you.

Pasta water

Pasta water is a huge automatic seasoning for your sauce. As you’re boiling the pasta take some of that water and add it to any sauce you’re making and it will completely uplift and enhance the flavor. That’s because you would’ve added salt to the water before adding the pasta. So make sure you don’t add a lot of salt to the sauce you’re making before you add the pasta water because then it will be too salty.

Tomato sauce

Please don’t buy progresso or ragú sauce!! First of all the ingredients are atrocious, second of all you deserve so much better. It’s not hard to make tomato sauce. You can get puréed tomatoes and use that. With any tomato sauce sautéeing garlic and onions in olive oil first is so important. You can also make your own with fresh tomatoes. I love sautéing and browning the tomatoes first, blending them and then adding them to the garlic and onions. You will need to add salt. If it’s a bit acidic the best way of cutting that is adding a pinch of sugar. If you have fresh basil add some in the last few mins...sooo yummy

Coat the pasta with your sauce

This is such an important step. If I ever see pasta with the sauce just sitting on top at a restaurant that’s also a tell all sign it ain’t gonna be that great lol. 

Add your sauce to your pasta and mix well before serving, you can add some parmigiano to it. Always season before serving, it might need a bit more salt and some fresh cracked pepper just to finish off.

Buon appetito